By Matt Chedgzoy
Cymru’s U21 side will be hoping to make national history when they welcome Czechia to Newport on Friday night (5:30pm kick off).
While plenty of attention will be directed towards their senior counterpart’s fixture in Iceland later in the evening, Matty Jones’ side could become the first team from their age group to qualify for a major tournament – the 2025 European Championships.
With one point required to secure a play-off spot, three points could even be enough to see the young Dragons qualify automatically – if they end the campaign as one of the best-placed runners-up, or if table-toppers Denmark drop points in their closing fixture against Iceland on Tuesday (15th October).
The story so far
A qualifying campaign that will end in front of a 2,500-strong crowd at Newport County’s Rodney Parade began almost 18 months ago in the impressive, 11,000-seater Vejle Stadion in Denmark. Cymru faced their toughest test of the campaign in the opening round of fixtures but returned home with a credible point. A Rubin Colwill brace in a 2-2 draw that saw the home side finish the game with nine men set the ball rolling in a run of three consecutive away matches at the beginning of the group stage.
Goals from Luke Harris, Fin Stevens and Joel Cotterill secured a maiden qualifying victory in Lithuania, despite a quickfire stoppage time double from the home side that saw the game end 2-3.
Cymru looked set to suffer their first defeat of the tournament a month later in Czechia, only for a spectacular 96th minute volley from Cian Ashford to salvage a point at the death. Ashford was making his U21 debut in České Budějovice after impressing for other national team age grades.
Iceland provided the opposition for the first home game of the campaign. A first half goal from defender Joe Low secured a 1-0 win for the hosts, who completed the final half an hour of the match with ten men after Josh Thomas was dismissed for a late challenge on goalkeeper Adam Benediktsson.
After four games unbeaten, Cymru would finally taste defeat when they returned to action against Denmark. A late Cian Ashford goal was not enough to rule out earlier efforts from Tobias Bech and Will Osula, ensuring that the Danes would return home with all three points.
Matty Jones and his team had the opportunity to get back on track in their next game against Lithuania but were made to sweat when they fell behind inside ten minutes courtesy of Mortiejus Burba. Rubin Colwill brought Cymru back onto level terms soon after and Lewis Koumas netted the eventual winner with a low, curling shot in the second half.
Iceland was the destination for the team’s penultimate qualifier, for a game against a side in direct competition with their Welsh counterparts for the group’s 2nd place spot. A second half brace from Joel Cotterill sent Cymru on their way to victory before Oskar Borgthorsson netted a consolation goal to restore some dignity for the home side.
Iceland’s involvement in Cymru’s campaign didn’t end there, however, as their defeat to Lithuania on 11th October meant that they could no longer finish higher than third in the group – confirming that Matty Jones’ side would need a point from their final game to secure a play-off spot (at a minimum).
They can go one step further and help Cymru to automatic qualification for next summer’s European Championships if they take points from Denmark in their final group stage game on Tuesday (15th October) – provided that all three points remain in Newport on Friday night.
The U21s will be hoping to replicate the success of the U17 side who qualified for the 2024 European Championships, becoming the first team from their age group to do so.
The opposition
While a life in qualifying after the group stage is almost confirmed for the young Cymru side, they will be well aware of the test that they face in their final group stage game.
Czechia have experienced a disappointing campaign, sitting fourth in the table with just two wins (against Iceland and Lithuania) to their name.
Nevertheless, they still possess the quality to hurt Cymru and almost defeated them when the sides met in the return fixture last year.
Their top scorer in this campaign is 22-year-old striker Vaclav Sejk, who has amassed over 70 career appearances across the top flights in Poland and his native Czech Republic. The forward wears the armband for the side has scored twice in the team’s last three games, including a late winner away to Lithuania.
The Czech goalscorer in the previous meeting between the two sides is Matej Jurasek, included in the squad again for this round of fixtures. The 21-year-old made his debut for boyhood team Slavia Prague and has gone on to play almost 80 times for his club, including starts in the Europa League and Champions League.
Jurasek has also earned a batch of senior caps for his nation in the last year, playing three times at the 2024 European Championships in Germany. He made his senior debut in June, scoring and assisting in a 7-1 defeat of Malta.
The young Czech team are managed by former defender Jan Suchoparek, who turned out for his country over 60 times in a playing career that took him from Slavia Prague to his native Kladno, via Strasbourg and Berlin. The 55-year-old has managed numerous age grade Czech national sides and has been in his position as U21 manager for three years.
Suchoparek’s team will be hoping to end their qualifying campaign on a high note after suffering a 5-0 defeat to Denmark in their previous game.
Team News
Matty Jones has named a strong squad for the final test of his team’s qualification group stage, drawing on Bundesliga and World Cup experience within their ranks.
14 of the 22 players named in the squad last month are currently playing first team football in the EFL, while seven of those called up have received nods to the senior squad in the past year.
Joe Low, Owen Beck, Charlie Savage, Charlie Crew, Matt Baker, Luca Hoole and Rubin Colwill were all recruited to Rob Page’s national side in the later stages of his tenure, with the latter also featuring in the Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022 squads.
Colwill is also the leading scorer for the U21s in this qualifying campaign and could line up alongside his brother, Joel, at Rodney Parade. The pair have previously shared the pitch for Cardiff City and Joel is currently enjoying a loan spell in League Two with Cheltenham Town – for whom he has scored three times (including a late winner against Newport at Rodney Parade).
At the back, Cymru will likely opt for a centre-back pairing of Joe Low and Luca Hoole, who are earning their stripes in League One this season, with Wycombe Wanderers and Shrewsbury Town respectively. Owen Beck has dropped down from the senior squad to bolster full back options and will likely start on the opposite flank to FC St Pauli’s Fin Stevens.
Attacking options come in the form of Cian Ashford, Josh Thomas and Chris Popov. The latter has taken his first steps into senior football this season with Barrow, while Thomas is turning out for Bromley, on loan from Swansea City. Ashford, who scored the late equaliser in the return fixture, will be hoping to add to his two goals so far in the campaign.
The game at Rodney Parade kicks off at 5.30pm and can be watched live on S4C Clic and Sgorio’s YouTube channel. Tickets are still available via FAW